1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to ingredient feeder machines and, more particularly, to an ingredient feeder which has an improved mechanism for oscillating a chamber funnel and periodically and abruptly stopping the oscillation in order to prevent jamming and improve the flow of ingredients through the ingredient feeder.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of ingredient feeding machines, also called ingredient feeders, is well known in the art. Ingredient feeders are typically used for continuous, simultaneous and uniform metering and blending of one or more ingredients into a flowing stream of a second ingredient, such as ice cream or other product. In the manufacture of ice cream, it is common to make a plain ice cream in a separate freezer mechanism and then pump the ice cream through an appropriate conduit to a packaging machine. If desired, fruits, nuts, candies and the like may be mixed into this flowing stream of ice cream by placing an ingredient feeder into the conduit system. The ingredient feeder functions to portion and properly blend the desired ingredient or ingredients into the stream of ice cream and then pass the blended ice cream product to the packaging machine where the ice cream is placed in containers or the like.
A commonly used ingredient feeder includes a feeder hopper which has an agitator inside of the hopper for continuously feeding the desired ingredient to a rotating auger at the bottom of the hopper. The ingredient is broken up or separated into smaller pieces by the agitator and is carried out of the hopper by means of the auger to a hollow chamber funnel. The ingredient is passed into the chamber funnel at a controlled rate of speed. A metering wheel housing having a metering wheel therein is positioned beneath the lower end of the chamber funnel. In this manner, the chamber funnel directs the ingredients from the auger and into the top of the metering wheel housing. The metering wheel accurately portions the ingredient and deposits it into the stream of ice cream passing beneath the outlet of the metering wheel housing. The ice cream, with the ingredient placed therein, then passes into a blender, such as a vertical side blender, which thoroughly mixed together the ice cream and deposited ingredient. The mixed ice cream product then passes out of the blender and into the remaining portion of the system for packaging. Ingredient feeders as described above are manufactured by Crepaco, Inc. of Chicago, Ill. and are identified as the Model Series S ingredient feeders. Another known ingredient feeder is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,831,906.
It has become very popular recently to mix broken pieces of cookies, including cream filled cookies, into ice cream. Ice cream manufacturers have attempted to use standard ingredient feeders for mixing cookies into ice cream. In using standard ingredient feeders the cookies, especially the cream filled cookies, become jammed beneath the auger in the bottom of the chamber funnel and in the top of the metering wheel housing. The flow of the cookie pieces through the machine can be severely restricted and result in an uneven amount of cookie pieces being deposited into the ice cream. Such an uneven product quality is not acceptable in the marketplace. In addition, the machine cannot be operated continuously but must be shut down periodically while the chamber funnel is dismantled and the mechanism is cleaned thoroughly. While the prior art ingredient feeders include a vibrating mechanism as an accessory, such vibrating mechanisms are not satisfactory in dislodging the cookies pieces and keeping a steady flow of cookie pieces through the machine. Moreover, the known ingredient feeder vibrating mechanisms feed the ingredients directly into the top of the chamber funnel with a mechanism completely separate from the ingredient feeder. This separate mechanism occupies additional floor space and a separate power supply is needed to operate the vibrating portion of the mechanism.
A wide variety of vibrating hoppers or feeders are known in the prior art. Such devices are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,801,773; 4,043,487; 4,083,475; 4,336,822; 4,346,802; and 4,461,405. While the vibrating element in these devices aids in keeping the materials flowing and minimizing clogging or the like, none of these devices develops a sufficient vibrating force to satisfactorily keep cookie pieces, particularly cream filled cookies or the like, flowing through an ingredient feeder.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved ingredient feeder with an oscillating type of mechanism which will allow the ingredient feeder to pass cookie pieces therethrough in an even and unrestricted manner.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an improved ingredient feeder in which the oscillating mechanism is built directly into the ingredient feeder and does not require a separate unit. Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide such an oscillating mechanism which does not require an additional power source for its operation.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide, in an ingredient feeder, an oscillating mechanism which is simple to install and operate, which does not interfere with the normal operation of the ingredient feeder, and which is relatively inexpensive.